The invention relates to a tile for laying in enclosed spaces. More particularly, the invention relates to tiles used especially but not exclusively for installation in so-called damp rooms, such as bathrooms, toilets, basements, entrance halls, conservatories and verandas.
Such tiles are familiar from DE 76 17 129 U and FR 2 570 116 A, whereby according to both printed publications the base plate and the sole decorative plate have the same shape and size but are arranged at an angle to one another. This results in an overlapping when the tiles are laid that increases mechanical solidity and prevents the formation of steps. Installation is of course still done tile by tile, with attention having to be paid to horizontal adjustment and especially to having the joints between the tiles run straight.
There still do not exist any particular arrangements for minimizing the work and thus the cost of installing tile inside of buildings. As in the past, ceramic tiles are glued to the subfloor, or stone tiles are either also glued to the subfloor, piece by piece, or thin-bed, medium-bed, or thick-bed installation is used. If electric floor heating is planned, the mats or wires respectively are laid on the subfloor surface and subsequently risk being damaged when the floor covering is installed. In any case, the heating elements lie on the subfloor rather than on the floor covering, which greatly reduces the efficiency of the heating system.
For laying tiles in a gravel bed outdoors, it is for instance familiar from AT 403 813 B to glue several ceramic cover tiles or cut stone tiles to a base plate of plastic foam material and to lay this tile in a gravel bed. In one embodiment it is provided that the base plate projects beyond the decorative plates on two sides and that the projection is covered with a water- and frost-proof elastic joint strip in order to preserve the visual impression of individually laid decorative plates.
This tile has essentially proved successful when installed outdoors in a gravel bed, but it does not meet the objective of the above-mentioned use. The reason is that the decorative plates are glued to the base plate, something that is easier to do in production facilities set up for this purpose than at the construction site, but that does not bring an advantage for the tile installation itself. The embodiment with the projecting base plate is visually and mechanically unacceptable because it necessitates masking with an insulating strip.
The invention aims to create a tile for the above-mentioned use that is visually appealing, mechanically solid and economical to produce; in one embodiment it is designed especially to facilitate installation of a heating system and in another embodiment it is designed to be easier to install than tiles familiar so far.